Cutter device of rolled copy paper for electronic copying machines

ABSTRACT

A cutter device of rolled copy paper without interrupting the feeding of the copy paper for electronic copying machine having two sets of feeding rolls. A controllable arcuate bypass passage of the copy paper is formed, and the copy paper is cut while holding the rotation of one set of the feeding rolls and allowing the shape of the copy paper in the arcuate bypass passage to change.

0 United States Patent 1151 3,673,905 Kono 1 July 4, 1972 CUTTER DEVICE OF ROLLED COPY References Cited PAPER FOR ELECTRONIC COPYING UNITED STATES PATENTS MACHINES 2,486,786 11/1949 Holtshauser ..83/446 [72] Inventor: Tateomi Kono, Toyokawa, Japan 2,657,601 1 H1953 l y 3 6 X 3,266,354 8 I966 0t ..83 221 X r'f Came" Osaka, 3,146,651 951964 13131 1 ..2 3/262 1,892,327 12/1962 Buccicone et al 83/262 x [22] Filed: Feb. 9, 1971 Primary Examiner-Andrew R. .luhasz [2| Appl' "3334 Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Attorney-Stanley Wolder [30] Foreign Application Priority Data ABSTRACT Feb. 27, Japan A cutter device of rolled copy paper without interrupting the feeding of the copy paper for electronic copying machine having two sets of feeding rolls. A controllable arcuate bypass [52] U.S. Cl .83/l75, 8833//246426, passage ofthe copy paper is formed and the copy paper is cut hile holding the rotation of one set of the feeding rolls and al- 51 I t. Cl. ..B26d 7 l4, 826d 5 20,B26d 2 06 w issi F ield ofSearch 83/l8, l75, 22l,23l,2 62, the shape the Paper mum bypass passage to change.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 41972 3.673.905

sum 1 or 3 INVENTOR.

17mm; Keno PATENTEDJUL 4|9 72 3.673.905

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FIG.3

INVENTOR. IT /T720 mi R M 0 PATENTEDJUL 41972 FIG.4

ENTOR,

BY /J W WM,

CUTTER DEVICE OF ROLLED COPY PAPER FOR ELECTRONIC COPYING MACHINES This invention relates to a cutter device for severing rolled copying paper having a cutting member means operatively connected to a feeding roll means, and more particularly to a cutter device of copy paper for use in electronic copying machines which device has a simple open loop-like guide plate means disposed downstream of a cutting member means, which cutter device acts to cut the copy paper at a desired length while momentarily holding a feeding roll means located upstream of the cutting member means.

In a conventional device for cutting a rolled copy paper, a pair of cutting edges each having a length substantially equivalent to the width of the copy paper being cut, which cutting edges are disposed so as to face the opposing surfaces of the copy paper for gradually cutting the paper starting from one edge of the paper to the opposite edge thereof. With such arrangement of the two cutting edges, it has been necessary to cut the paper slantly for allowing the movement of the paper during the cutting operation. The conventional cutter device has another shortcoming in that the copy paper tends to be stacked just in front of the cutting edges.

To mitigate such shortcomings, it has been practised to set the paper feeding speed within a limit which is compatible with the cutting speed of the cutting edges. On the other hand, there is an increasing need for a faster feeding speed of the copy paper. With conventional arrangement, it is difficult to provide a cutting speed which matches the very fast paper feeding speed required in modern copying machines.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obviate the aforesaid difficulties of conventional cutter devices, by providing an improved cutter device for cutting rolled copy paper of electronic copying machines, which includes a pair of open loop-like guide plates disposed immediately downstream of a cutting member means, one of the loop-like guide plates being resiliently supported. In a cutter device according to the present invention, the copy paper is passed through an open loop-like bypass route, and a feeding roll means is momentarily stopped so as to cut the paper while releasing the loop of the paper. Thus, regardless of the paper feeding speed, the need of holding the entire movement of the paper for the cutting is completely eliminated. Consequently, straight line cutting is ensured without disturbing the downstream movement of the paper, as seen from the cutting member means, for providing smooth operations for charging, exposing, and developing.

With the cutter device of the present invention, it is possible to regulate the paper feeding speed depending on the size of the copying paper sheet and to intentionally slow down the cutting speed, simply by modifying the magnitude of the open loop-like paper passage downstream of the cutting member means. Such modification of the open loop-like paper passage can be effected without affecting other copying operations following the cutting.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be appreciated by referring to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic side views of a cutter device according to the present invention, illustrating the conditions before and after cutting a copy paper, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an electronic copying machine which incorporates the cutter device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial perspective view of the copying machine, showing those parts which relate to the cutter device of the present invention.

Like parts are designated by like numerals throughout the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a rolled copy paper 1 is to be cut by a pair of cutting members 2, e.g., cutting edges or rotary cutters, which copy paper I is forwarded by two sets of paper feeding rolls 3,3 and 4,4. The copy paper 1 passes through an open loop-like space defined between an upper guide plate 5 and a lower guide plate 6. The upper guide plate is of arcuate shape and it is held stationary by side plates 12 of a copying machine (FIGS. 3 and 4). One edge of the lower guide plate 6 is pivotally supported by a suitable means. In the illustrated embodiment, the upstream edge of the lower guide plate 6, relative to the travelling direction of the copy paper 1, is held by holders 11 which are integral with bent lugs 13 carried by a shaft 9 joumaled by the opposite side plates 12 of the copying machine. The bent comer portion of a V-shaped spring 7 is inserted between the shaft 9 and the holders 1], so that one of the extended legs of the V-shaped spring 7 operatively engages the lower surface of the lower guide plate 6 while the other extended leg of the V-shaped spring 7 is held stationary by a suitable means (not shown). Limiter arms 8 project from that edge of the lower guide plate 6 which is held by the ho]- ders 11, and the extended edges of the limiter arms 8 are so disposed as to face stationary pins 10.

If a tension is produced in the copy paper 1 in the space between the two guide plates 5 and 6, the lower guide plate 6 is forced downwardly by such tension against the elasticity of the V-shaped spring 7, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the angle between the two legs of the V-shaped spring 7 is reduced in response to such downward movement of the lower guide plate 6. As soon as such tension is removed from the copy paper 1, the V-shaped spring 7 acts to return the lower guide plate 6 to its upper position, where the limiter arms 8 of the lower guide plate 6 engage the stationary pins 10 for indexing the guide plate 6 in position so as to provide a suitable paper passage between the two guide plates 5 and 6, as shown in FIG. I.

The cutter device of FIGS. 1 and 2 can be incorporatedin an electronic copying machine, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The illustrated copying machine comprises a table 14 for receiving an original to be copied, which is, for instance, a slitexposure type table and movable along suitable guide rails (not shown). The table 14 faces an exposing portion 18 including a light-source lamp or lamps 15, a mirror-lens 17, one or more mirrors l9, and an exposing station 20. The copy paper 1 is sensitized by a charger 16 prior to entering the exposing station 20. The copy paper is forwarded into a developing portion 21 after passing through the exposing station 20, which developing portion 21 includes an electrode plate 22. The copy paper from the developing portion 21 is delivered to a copy receiver 24 through a drying portion 23. The starting copy paper 1 is rolled on a spool 26 carried by a spool holder means 25. One set of the paper feeding rolls 3,3 are driven by a driving chain 28, which is controlled by a magnetic clutch 27. The cutting members 2,2 are actuated by a cutter solenoid 29 In operation of the cutter device of the aforesaid construction, according to the present invention, the copy paper 1 is forwarded toward the cutting members 2,2 by the feeding rolls 3,3 from the right, as seen in the figures. When a desired length of the copy paper 1 passes through the cutting members 2,2 the magnetic clutch 27 or any other suitable electromagnetic control means is actuated to momentarily hold the rotation of the feeding rolls 3,3. At the same time, the cutter solenoid 29 is actuated to initiate the action of the cutting members 2,2. Since the other set of the feeding rolls 4,4 are kept running even when the rotation of the feeding rolls 3,3 is momentarily held by the clutch 27, the openly looped or arcuate portion of the copy paper 1 is forced to stretch straight between the two sets of the rolls 3,3 and 4,4, while urging the lower guide plate 6 downward against the elasticity of the V- shaped spring 7. As the copy paper 1 is being thus stretched, the cutting members 2,2 sever the copy paper 1 from one edge to the other. The time from the holding of the rotation of the feeding rolls 3,3 to the completion of the paper cutting is determined by the cutting length, namely the width of the copy paper 1 as measured at right angles to its travelling direction. In practice, the copy paper is cut substantially instantly.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A cutter device of rolled copy paper for electronic copying machines having two sets of feeding rolls, comprising a stationary arcuate guide plate disposed above a passage of the copy paper between the two sets of the feeding rolls, a movable arcuate guide plate disposed below said passage between the two sets of the feeding rolls, the two guide plates forming an open loop-shape bypass passage of the copy paper, a V- shaped spring having one leg engaging that surface of the movable guide plate which is opposite to the stationary guide plate, a shaft means pivotally supporting one edge of the movable guide plate, a limiter arm means integrally secured to the movable guide plate adjacent said shaft means, a stationary pin means engageable with said limiter arm means when the movable guide plate is moved away from the stationary guide plate, and a cutting member means being actuated in relation with the rotation of the feeding rolls, whereby cutting the copy paper without interrupting the feeding thereof.

2. A cutter device according to Claim 1 and further comprising a clutch means controlling the transmission of driving power to one of the two sets of feeding rolls, and a solenoid actuating the cutting member means, whereby in order to cut the copy paper, the driving power is momentarily interrupted by the clutch means and the cutting member means is substantially simultaneously actuated by the solenoid. 

1. A cutter device of rolled copy paper for electronic copying machines having two sets of feeding rolls, comprising a stationary arcuate guide plate disposed above a passage of the copy paper between the two sets of the feeding rolls, a movable arcuate guide plate disposed below said passage between the two sets of the feeding rolls, the two guide plates forming an open loop-shape bypass passage of the copy paper, a V-shaped spring having one leg engaging that surface of the movable guide plate which is opposite to the stationary guide plate, a shaft means pivotally supporting one edge of the movable guide plate, a limiter arm means integrally secured to the movable guide plate adjacent said shaft means, a stationary pin means engageable with said limiter arm means when the movable guide plate is moved away from the stationary guide plate, and a cutting member means being actuated in relation with the rotation of the feeding rolls, whereby cutting the copy paper without interrupting the feeding thereof.
 2. A cutter device according to Claim 1 and further comprising a clutch means controlling the transmission of driving power to one of the two sets of feeding rolls, and a solenoid actuating the cutting member means, whereby in order to cut the copy paper, the driving power is momentarily interrupted by the clutch means and the cutting member means is substantially simultaneously actuated by the solenoid. 